The present invention relates generally to the installation of plumbing systems in building construction, and particularly to a pipe supporting bracket for supporting pipes in predetermined spaced relationship.
A plumbing system in a building must supply water to all the plumbing fixtures in the building, such as sinks, bath fixtures and toilets. Thus, numerous hot and cold water pipes are typically installed in the walls of a building during construction, extending both horizontally and vertically, and must be adequately supported in fixed relation to one another to prevent movement which could lead to excessive noise and even rupture of the pipe.
Various types of supports or hangers have been proposed in the past to secure plumbing pipes at spaced intervals to various supporting structures such as building studs, waste pipes and the like, and to one another to provide a fixed spatial relationship between the pipes for alignment with fixture inlets and outlets, for example. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,451 of Hubbard, a plumbing pipe locator and support is described, which includes a strap securable to the building structure and having openings for receiving pipes which are secured in the openings by an adhesive, by soldering, or by means of suitable inserts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,175 of Kearney describes a pipe supporting structure comprising a central body having pipe receiving recesses to which support members may be secured to fasten the structure to fixed building members such as beams, large waste pipes, or large water pipes. The support members are in the form of channel shaped lateral clamps which receive the central body at one end and which have an L-shaped contact member at the other end for locating against a construction member to prevent lateral movement when the support member is secured to the construction member via a suitable fastener.